Direction control mechanism for well drilling tools



J. H. scHuMAcHER ET Al. v 2,153,680 DIRECTION CONTROL MECHNISM FOR WELL DRILLING TOOLS.

` Filed Jan. so, 1936 s sheets-sheet l1 April' 11, 1939.

April 11, 1939. Y 2,153,680

DIRECTION CONTROL MECHANISM FOR WELL DRILLING TooLs 3 Sheets--Sheerl 2 .1. H. scHuMAcp-IER ET AL Filed Jan. 50, 1936 a myme @www Wm@ m .ff/a m JM. A@

April 11, 1939.

`.1. H. scHUMAcl-IER ET AL I DIRECTION CONTROL MECHANISM FOR WELL DRILLING TOOLS Filed Jan. 50, 1936 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 WC Geol' 6 @www Patented Apr. 11, 1939 DIRECTION CONTROL MECHANISM FOR WELL DRILLING TOOLS James H. -Schumacher and Willis C. George,v Yentura, Calif.

Application yJanuary 30, 1936, Serial No. 61,575

21 Claims. 4(Cl. 255-l) This invention relates to a means and method y of automatically controlling the direction in which a rotary drill stem of a rotary well drilling apparatus 'may proceed in well drilling.

In recent years it has become highly desirable to be able to drill periectlyA straight and vertical lwells, particularly oil wells. The rotary well drilling lapparatus conventionally employed in drilling oil wells is subject to the disadvantage that the bit or other drilling 'tool on the drill stem on encountering inclined strata or formation is apt to be deviated from the vertical. Many surveying devices have been developed to ascertain whether or not a deviation has occurred from the vertical, the amount of deviation, and its direction. The difllculty with the use of such instruments usually is that they do not come into use until after deviation has occurred, at which timesuitable steps are taken in an endeavor to make correction and straighten up the hole.

It is an object ofthe present invention to provide the conventional rotary drill stem with an automatic apparatus which will automatically tend to maintain the drill stem vertical and to 26 keep it drilling in a 'vertical direction so that when the bit or other drilling tool encounters inclined strata or other formation which will tend to deiiect the bit, lateral forces will be automatically imposed on the drill stem in opposition thereto,

`40' a construction which-will facilitate the drilling ofstraight well holes, which construction is of simple and durable design, Arequiring a minimum amount of attention onthe part of the driller,

v and which is automatic in its operation.

' With the foregoing and other objects in view, which will be made manifest in the following detailed description. and specifically pointed out in the appended claims, reference is had to .the accompanying drawings for an illustrative embodiment of the invention, wherein:

. Fig. 1 is a view in side elevation, parts being broken" away and-shown inverticalsection, of the bottom. of the stem, illustrating the inven- 55 tion as having been incorporated therein'.

Fig. 2. is a partial view in vertical section illustratinga portion of Fig. 1 on an enlarged scale.

Fig. 3 is a partial view in vertical'section illustrating another portion of Fig. 1 on an enlarged scale. 5 Fig. 4 is a View similar to Fig. 1, illustrating the position assumed by'the construction when the drill stem has deviated from the vertical.

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 3, illustrating a portion of Fig.` 4 on an' enlarged scale. 10

Fig. 6 is a horizontal section taken upon the line 6--6 upon Fig. 4.

Fig. 7 is a horizontal section taken upon the line 1--1 upon Fig. 4.

`Fig. 8 is a horizontal section taken substan- 15 tially upon the line 8-8 upon Fig. 4.

Fig. 9 is a partial view in vertical section, illustrating how the invention may be incorporated in a drill stem utilizing a core barrel as the drilling tool. 20

Fig. 10 is a' partial view in vertical section, illustrating the application of the invention to a drill stem where a reamer or milling tool is used as the drilling tool. Y

Fig. 11 is a partial view in vertical section, illus- 25 trating a modication of the invention making it susceptible for use in drilling inclined well holes.

Fig. 12 is a horizontalsection taken substantially upon the line I2-I2 upon Fig. 11.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, wherein similar reference characters designate similar parts throughout, Y I0 designates a sub located at or near the bottom of the drill stem, which is made up of stands of rotary drill pipe, not shown, that is conventionally employed in rotary well drilling. This sub has a vertical, central passage therethrough, indicated at Il, for the l, passage of circulation uid that is conventionally pumped down through the drill pipe to be discharged at or near the bit. Attached to sub Il! 0 is a hollow barrel l2, in the top of which there is formed a shoulder I3 for a suitable spider Il.

'A spindle I5 extends through the spider and is supported on an anti-friction bearing I6 sc that the spindle will be inuenced a minimum amount by the rotation of thedrill stem during drilling. Attached to the spindle I5 there is a universal joint I1 to which is connecteda pendulum i8,

, the bottom of which may be hollow, as indicated at I9, and provided with suitable ports 20. The pendulum may be made up of two .parts to enable the application and attachment of 'suitable downwardly through barrel` I2 around the penduy `may swing within limits inbarrel I2. The'bit .the drawings, in accordance with conventional practice in bits used on a rotary drill stem, the blt is provided with circulation ports 23 for the discharge of the circulation fluid which is forced lum. The barrel is provided with a plurality of circumferentially spaced discharge ports arranged t yto discharge circulation uid in a lateral direcv '20 As illustrated, there are vertical passages 24 and 25, the upper ends of which terminate on the p interior of barrel I2 opposite sealing rings 2i. 'I'he lower ends of the passages terminate on the exterior of the barrel on diametrically opposite 25 sides and may be divided as indicated at 25 (see Fig. 8).

Referring to Figs. '1 to 5, inclusive, the operation. of the foregoing described construction may be described as follows: y

When the drill stem is perfectly vertical, the

pendulum I8 will hang centrally of. barrel I2, in which case the entrances to passages 24 and 25 are both open. v'I'he circulation fluid which is pumped down through the drill stem under considerable pressure discharges through both passages 24 and 25 as well as through the ports 23 in the bit. The outwardly directed discharges of the circulation fluid lthrough thel lower ends of Apassages 24 and 25 will, develop reactionary In the event that the bit encounters an inclined strata or other formation condition which will tend to deviate the drill stem from the vertical, such deviation, as soon as it becomes sufficient, will` cause the pendulum to engage the side of the interior of barrel I2 as shown in Fig. 4.

As shown in this figure, the drill stem has started to deviate toward the left with the result that the pendulum has swung' against the right hand side of the interior of the barrel. In this position the entrance to passage 24 is closed by the sealing rings 2| with the result that no circulation fluid discharges through passage 24. Passage 25, however, is left open and circulation fluid continues to discharge therethrough. 'I'he reactionary forces developed by the discharging' circulationuid through passage 24 being no longer neutralized by the reactionary forces created by the uid discharging through passage 24, become eilective to urge barrel I2 toward the right, that is, to return it to the vertical position from which it has deviated. It will, of

course, be appreciated that during drilling, the drill pipe -and, consequently, barrel I2 are continuously rotating. The entrance to passage 24 is only closed during those instants of timel when barrel I2 is in the position shown in Fig. 4 during'the rotation. In other wordsfat a given instant of time the construction will have the posiy 2,153,680 4the sealing rings 2| is such that the pendulum tion shown in Fig. 4, but as rotation continues, the entrance to passage 24 will pass from engagement with the sealing rings 2 I. When the barrel has rotated from the position shown in Fig. 4, both passages 24 and 25 are open so that the reactionary forces created by the discharging circulation iiuid through both of these ports in this position are neutralized and there is no tendency to urge the drill stem either forward or backward. When, however, the barrel I2, in` the course of rotation, has rotated from the position shown.

in Fig. 4, passage 25 assumes the position of passage 24, as shown in Fig. 4, so that its entrance is closed by the sealing rings on the pendulum'. Passage 24, which then assumes the position shown for passage 25,' remains open, and the reactionary forces developed by the discharging circulation iiuid therethrough not being neutralized they are also eiective to urge the drill stem from left toy right so as to return it to the vertical.

It will thus be appreciated that in this construction the entrances to passages Y24 and 25 are consecutively closed by the pendulum during rotation, leaving the opposed ports open, which are directed in the direction of deviation -of the drill stem so that reactionary forces which will not be neutralized will be edective to urge the drill stem to return to vertical.

It will be appreciated, also, that the constru tion is entirely automatic and' is independent in its operation of any direction in which the drill stem may be deviated from the vertical. In all instants, regardless of the direction of the direction of` deviation, the construction will automatically cause reactionary forces to be developed in the drill stem. tending to return it to vertical,

and these become immediately operative as soon as the deviation has been suf'dcient to causethe pendulum to engage the side of barrel I 2v.A

'Ihe construction is in no way limited in its application to rotary drill stems and may be employed regardless of thenature of the drilling tool. In Fig. 9 we have illustrated. somewhat schematically, the manner in which the invention may be employed where the drilling tool consists of a core barrel. In this form of construction the pendulum is illustrated at 40, having sealing rings 4I adapted to close the entrances to passages or ports 42 and 43, consecutively, which are formed in the walls of barrel 44, on which the core bit 45 is mounted. 4B indicates any preferred form of core barrel that may be used in conjunction with the core bit. In the type of construction it will be appreciated that if the drill stem deviates from the vertical the pendulum becomes operative,- to consecutively close the ports during therotation so as to cause resulting reactionary forces to be effective in a direction tending to return the drill stem to vertical.

In Fig. 10 the invention is illustrated as having been incorporated in a drill stem vusing a reamer on a milling tool as the drilling tool. In this construction the pendulum is indicated at 50, having the sealing rings 5I, and disposed within barrel 52. Thelreamer or milling tool is indicated at 53 and the passages which are adapted to be consecutively closed by the pendulum are illustrated at 54 and 55. The operation and advantages in this form of construction are the same as those previously described.

In Fig. 11 a modied form of the invention is disclosed, which can be advantageously usedin drilling inclined holes or in whipstocking. In this form of construction the barrel is indicated at 60, Awithin which isdisposed the pendulum 6I carrying the sealing rings 62. The passages 4 formed in the walls of barrel 60 are vertical as shown in the previously described gures. One passage, indicated at 63, has its entrance 64 adapted to be closed by sealing ring 62 on one side of the barrel. The exit from passage 63 is on the opposite side of the barrel, as indicated at 65. Similarly, the entrance 66 of passage 61 is` diametrically opposite entrance 64 but the exit from this passage is on the opposite side of the barrel, as indicated at 66, and is diametrically opposite exit 65. In using this type of construction, when it is desired to drill an inclined hole some diverting means, such as a whipstock, is used to initially deect the bit in the desired direction.

This causes the pendulum 6l to swing against one side of the barrel. However, in this form of construction, wherein the passages extend circumferentially around the barrel, the eiect is to have the discharging circulation fluid through the open passage create reactionary forces on the drill stem in the same direction as that in which the drill stem has been deflected. In other words,

in this form of construction, the reactionaryl forces created by the issuing streams of circulationl fluid, instead of being effective in directions in opposition to deviation from the vertical, are

effective inthe same direction as that in which the drill stem has been deected. This construction, therefore, serves to maintain the drill stem deiiected'in the direction in which it may have been started by some instrument such as, for example, a whipstock.

It will be appreciated from the foregoing that we have disclosed a method and` apparatus for controlling the direction of the drill stem of the conventional rotary well drilling apparatus. The

4construction is automatic in its operation and of simple and durable design, requiring a minimum amount of attention; Furthermore, it becomes immediately effective to return the drill stem to` its vertical position as soon as material deiiection or deviation has occurred, thus making correction at the very start of the deviation rather than postponlng correction until after the well may have seriously diverted from the vertical and have been laboriously surveyed.

.Various changes may be made in the details of construction without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Wel claim:

1. In combination with a rotary drill stem, means associated with the drill stem and located near the bottom thereof operable by a deviation of the drill stem from the vertical for causing a force to be exerted laterally upon the drill stem in a direction opposite to that in which the drill stem tends to deviate from the vertical.

2. In combination with a rotary' drill stem through which circulation fluid is adapted to be discharged, means associated with the drill stem near the bottom thereof operable by a deviation of the drill stem from the vertical for causing the circulation fluid to be discharged in `such dilrection as the drill stem tends to deviate from the vertical so that reactionary forces developed upon the drill st em by the discharging circulation iluid will tendto maintain the drill stem vertical.

3. In combination with a rotary drill stem through which circulation uid is adapted to be discharged, means associated with the drill stem near the bottom thereof for causing the circulation fluid to be discharged in greater amount in such direction as the drill stem tends to deviate from the vertical than in other directions to that reactionary forces developed upon the drill stem by the discharging circulation iiuid will tend to maintain the drill stem vertical.

4. In combination with a rotary drill stem through which circulation iiuid is adapted to be discharged during rotary drilling, means providing laterally directed ports through which the circulation uid may be discharged, and means operable to-close the ports against the discharge only when they are directed in directions opposite to that in which the drill stern tends to deviate from the vertical whereby when the ports are directedA in the direction of deviation of the drill stem the discharging fluid therethrough will set up reactionary forces in the drill stem tending to return the drill stem to the vertical. 1

5. In combination with a' rotary drill stem through which circulation iluid is adapted to be discharged, means providing circumferentially spaced, laterally directed discharge ports in the drill stem near the bottom of thereof, a pendulum mounted for universal swinging movement in the drill pipe, and closure means carried by the pendulum for closing consecutively the ports as they pass during rotation of the drill stem on that side of the drill stem against which the pendulum may swing.

6. In combination with a rotary drill stern through which circulation fluid is adapted to be discharged, means providing circumferentially spaced, laterally directed discharge ports in the drill stem near vthe bottom thereof, a spider in the drill stem, a spindle rotatably mounted in the spider, an anti-fricton-bearing for the spin- .dle, a universal joint connected to the spindle, a

pendulum suspended from the universal joint for swinging movement in theldrill stem, and closure means carried by the pendulum for consecutively closing the ports as they pass during rotation of the drill stem on that side of the drill stem against which the pendulum may swing.

7. In combination with a rotary drill stem, means tending to assume a predetermined position with respect to the vertical independently of positions assumed by the Vdrill stem during drilling, and means affected by said means for causing lateral forces to be developed upon the drill stem when the drill stem deviates from a predetermined drilling direction, which lateral forces are in such a direction as to tend to return the drill stem to the predetermined drilling direction.

8. In combination with a rotary drill stem, means in the drill stem adjacent the bottom thereof tending to normally assume a predetermined position with respect to the vertical independently of the position assumed by the drill stem, and means aiected by said means for of tending to normally assume a predetermined position with respect to the vertical independently of the drill stem, and 4means movable by said means for varying the iiow through the ports during rotation of the drill stem when the drill stem deviates from a predetermined drilling direction so as to cause unbalanced reactive forces to be developed uponthe drill stem in, opposition to the direction of deviation and thereby tend to return the drill stem to the predetermined drilling direction.

10. In combination with a rotary drill stem, means associated with the drill stern near a drill-"1 ing tool thereon adapted to normally assume a predetermined position independently of the position o f the drill stem, and means operable thereby for causing circulation iiuid to be discharged equally upon opposite sides of the drill stem so that reactive forces developed therefrom will be substantially balanced as long as the drill stem continues in a predetermined drilling direction and to cause the circulation fluid to be discharged to a greater extent in such direction as the drill stem may tend to deviate from the predetermined direction and. thereby create unbalanced reactive forces on the drill stem in a direction tending to return it to the predetermined drilling direction.

11. In combination with a rotary drill stem, laterally directed circumfeentially spaced discharge ports in the drill stem, and means for causingl circulation -l'luid to discharge equally through all ports so that reactionary forces developed onthe drill stem will balance when the drill stem is proceeding in a predetermined drilling direction and for causing' the discharge through all ports to change during rotation of the drill stem when the drill stem deviates from the predetermined drilling direction so as to produce unbalanced reactionary forces upon the drill stem anding to return it to the predetermined direcon. y

12. In combination with a rotary drill stem, means for causing circulation fluid to be discharged from circumferentially spaced discharge ports so as to create balanced reactionary forces on the drill stem when the drill stem is in a predetermined drilling position, and means forcausing the circulation fluid tobe discharged from said `ports in such a manner as to create unbalanced reactionary forces in opposition to the direction of deviation when the drill stem. deviates from said predetermined drilling position whereby the unbalanced forces may tend to return the drill stem to said predetermined position.

13. In combination with a rotary drill stem, means `for causing circulation fluid to be discharged from circumferentlally spaced discharge ports so as to create balanced reactionary forces on the drill stem when the drill stem is in a vertical drilling position, and means operable by the drill stem deviating from a, vertical drilling position for causing the circulation fluid to be discharged from said ports in such a manner as to create unbalanced reactionary forces in opposi-` tion to the direction of deviation when the drill stem deviates from the vertical whereby the unbalanced forces may tend to return the drill stem to vertical drilling position.

14. In combination with a rotary drill stem, means associated with the drill-stem near a drilling tool thereon adapted to assume a predetermined normal position With respect to the vertical independently of the position of the drill stem, and means operable thereby for causing forces to be imposed laterally upon the drill stem in opposition to such direction as the drill stem may tend to deviate from a predetermined drilling direction to cause it to return to said predetermined drilling direction.

15. In combination with a rotary drill stem, means associated with the drill stem near a drilling tool thereon adapted to assume a predetermined normal podtion with respect to the vertlcal independently of the position of the drill stem, and means operable thereby for causing -forces to be imposed laterally upon the drill stem in opposition to such direction as the drill stem may tend to deviate from a predetermined drilling direction to cause it to return to said predetermined drilling direction and to discontinue being imposed orrthe drill stem upon its returning to substantially the predetermined drilling direction.

16. In combination with a rotary drill stem, means causing laterally directed unbalanced forces to be imposed upon the drill stem near the bottom thereof in opposition to the direction in which the drill stem deviates from a predetermined drilling direction, and means associated with the drill stem tending to assume a normal predetermined position with respect to the vertical irrespective of deviations of the drill stem for causing said means to become operative upon the drill stem deviating from the predetermined drilling direction.

17. In combination with a rotary drill stem, means causing laterally directeda unbalanced forces to be imposed upon the drill stem near the bottom thereof in opposition to the direction in which the drill stem deviates from a predetermined drilling direction, and means associated with the drill stem tending to assume a normal predetermined position withV respect to the vertical irrespective of deviations of the drill stem for causing said means to become operative upon the drill stem deviating fromA the predeter- 'mined drilling direction and to discontinue opera.-

` forces to be imposed upon the drill stem near the l bottom thereof in opposition to the direction in which the drill stem deviates fromy the vertical, and means associated with the drill stem tending to assume a normal predetermined position with respect to the vertical irrespective of deviations'l l of the drill stem for causing said means to become operative only upon the drill stem deviating from the vertical.'

means for causing laterally directed unbalanced forces to be imposed upon the drill stem near the bottom thereof in opposition to the direction in which the drill stem deviates from the vertical, and means associated with the drill stem tending to assume a normal predetermined position with respect to the Vertical irrespective of deviations of the drill stem for causing said means to become operative only upon the drill stem deviating from the vertical, and to discontinue operation upon the drill stem returning to the vertical.

20. In combination with a rotary drill stem, means for causing laterally directed unbalanced forces to be imposed upon the drill stem near the bottom thereof in opposition to the direction in which the drill stem deviates from a. predetermined drilling directiom and pendulum means v mined drilling direction, and pendulum means associated with the drill stemtendlng to assume a normal predetermined position irrespective of deviations of the drill stem for causing said means to become operative only upon the drill stem deviating from the predetermined drilling direction-and to discontinue operation upon the drill stem returning to the predetermined drilling 5 direction.

JAMES H. SCHUMACHER. WILLIS C. GEORGE. 

